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Stunned Castleford Tigers set to appeal £40,000 chant fine
Stunned Castleford Tigers officials will take legal advice this week after the club was hit by a £40,000 Rugby Football League.
Tigers were penalised the massive sum – half of it suspended until the end of 2011 – after homophobic chants were aimed by supporters at Crusaders player Gareth Thomas, during an engage Super League fixture at the Jungle on March 26.
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An RFL operational tribunal found Tigers guilty of unacceptable behaviour, of breaching the RFL's Respect policy, of misconduct by their supporters and of conduct prejudicial to the interests of the sport.
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The club were also told to forfeit another 20,000, which was the suspended portion of a separate 40,000 fine handed down last September.
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In that case Tigers were found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game and misconduct after bottles were thrown on to the pitch and match officials abused and threatened, at the end of a game against Catalans Dragons last June.
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The latest tribunal was chaired by Judge Rodney Grant. He criticised the club for failing to take steps to stop the homophobic chanting, failing to identify the perpetrators, for failing to challenge the chanting and for their failure to undertake a "meaningful inquiry" afterwards.
The Wheldon Lane club will receive a written verdict by the end of the week, then have 15 days to lodge an appeal – which the club say is "likely".
The club are declining to comment in detail until after discussions with their solicitors over the next few days.
However, in a statement, Tigers chief executive Richard Wright admitted: "To say we are disappointed and shocked is an understatement.
"The evidence does not support the decision and does not in any way support the scale of the penalty.
"We totally refute the outcome of the hearing."
Rod Findlay, a partner at sports law specialists McDaniel and Co has been advising Tigers during the proceedings.
In a statement released through the club, he said: "There was some chanting on the day, we agreed this with the tribunal panel.
"There were three incidents, lasting only a few moments, two of which were drowned out by public address announcements.
"The club condemns any person who makes or chants obscene remarks towards players or officials.
But the charges against the club are not that there was any chanting, they are that the club failed to take its best best endeavours to prevent or stop any chanting.
"This the club refutes totally.
"The club has a well-established system for dealing with chanting and could not have done any more on the day.
"This season the club has been one of the most pro-active in Super League when it comes to promoting a family-friendly environment at the stadium, working hard all season to create an atmosphere within the stadium that is inclusive for all sections of the community."
On top of the previous fine, poor behaviour by a section of the crowd has now cost Tigers 60,000 – the equivalent of a good quality player's wages for one season.
The fear for Cas is now that the two cases could count against them when they submit their engage Super League licence application next year.
Tigers accept that a small number of fans are causing problems, but the club insist they are doing everything possible to stamp bad behaviour out.
TIGERS under-20s were beaten 22-16 by Bradford Bulls despite two tries and two goals from Ryan Brierley and a Josh Nathanial touchdown. But the charges against the club are not that there was any chanting, they are that the club failed to take its best best endeavours to prevent or stop any chanting.
“This the club refutes totally.
“The club has a well-established system for dealing with chanting and could not have done any more on the day.
“This season the club has been one of the most pro-active in Super League when it comes to promoting a family-friendly environment at the stadium, working hard all season to create an atmosphere within the stadium that is inclusive for all sections of the community.”
On top of the previous fine, poor behaviour by a section of the crowd has now cost Tigers 60,000 – the equivalent of a good quality player's wages for one season.
The fear for Cas is now that the two cases could count against them when they submit their engage Super League licence application next year.
Tigers accept that a small number of fans are causing problems, but the club insist they are doing everything possible to stamp bad behaviour out.
l TIGERS under-20s were beaten 22-16 by Bradford Bulls despite two tries and two goals from Ryan Brierley and a Josh Nathanial touchdown.
peter.smith@ypn.co.uk
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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